Microlite
specimen number:
1052672
location:
Amelia Court House, Virginia, USA
description: The Amelia Court House district, located in the Piedmont region of Virginia, is a world-class pegmatite province famous for producing exceptional crystals of microlite, a complex sodium calcium tantalate. Geologically, the district is centered on the Morefield and Rutherford pegmatites, which are highly evolved, granitic bodies that intruded into the surrounding Precambrian metamorphic rocks. These pegmatites exhibit distinct internal zoning, with microlite typically occurring as small, honey-yellow to reddish-brown octahedral crystals within the lithium-rich replacement units, often found alongside amazonite, cleavelandite, and tantalite. Historically, mining and quarrying began in the early 19th century, with the Rutherford mine opening around 1832 and the Morefield mine following in 1929. While the sites were initially worked for commercial feldspar, mica, and tantalum ore, they gained international fame among mineralogists for the high quality of their rare-element species. Systematic industrial production saw various peaks during the mid-20th century, particularly for strategic metals during World War II, but shifted toward specimen and gemstone recovery in later years.
An antique cork stoppered vial holding examples of partial Microlite crystals. The specimen comes with an antique label as shown at the end of the video with an original acquisition date in 1911. Size provided is the size of the vial.
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